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Wednesday, April 8, 2015

“The
Longest Ride” received early rave reviews stating that the movie is
the best since Nicholas Sparks’ blockbuster hit “The
Notebook.” Starring Scott Eastwood whose role in
the movie marks his entry to Hollywood’s top lead male actors in
the years to come, “The Longest Ride” spans decades of two love
stories intertwined that explores the challenges and the magic of new
and enduring relationships.

Directed
by George Tillman Jr., Scott Eastwood stars with Britt Robertson in
“The Longest Ride” set in North Carolina, where in the present
day, Luke (Eastwood), a bull rider, meets Sophia (Robertson) an art
history student. Sparks fly and they embark on a relationship despite
having little in common. Driving along a country road, Luke and
Sophia save the life of an elderly man (Ira played by Alan Alda) who
crashed his car, skidding off the road in stormy conditions.

Sophia
befriends Ira, a widower, as he convalesces, learning about his long
marriage to Ruth, the love of his life. The film flashes back to 1940
where young Ira, played by Jack Huston, works in his family’s store
and begins his relationship with Ruth (Oona Chaplin), an artistic
Austrian immigrant. Like the contemporary couple, Ruth and Ira come
from different worlds, but there is an immediate attraction and they
fall in love.

Finding
actors who could bring the vivid characters to life on film was a
challenge, but one that the filmmakers were excited to
accept. “Scott Eastwood was one of our initial top five
for the role of Luke,” says Sparks. “We bantered
around a lot of different names, but Scott was always there. When
we brought him in, Scott proved to be just what we were looking
for. He looks like a leading man, and had a good
understanding of the characters.”

Producer
Marty Bowen adds that, “Casting the male lead in a love story is
very, very hard. You want the actor to be emotionally
accessible, but you also want him to be masculine, vulnerable and
strong. That combination of traits is difficult to
find. When Scott came in to talk to us about the
part, he left with the movie being his. It’s as if the
movie was written for Scott. He has real charisma and
toughness. We had to keep close tabs on him during the
shoot because if he could, he’d get on the bulls and ride them
himself. That’s just who he is. It’s in his
DNA. He had that blend we were looking for.”

Eastwood
notes that “Luke is very determined, at times selfish, but he’s a
good guy. He’s a gentleman and a hard worker. Luke
is coming back from a life-threatening injury and is determined to be
the number one rider.”

Eastwood
traveled to a ranch to train. The facility’s owner, Troy
Brown, raises bucking bulls and is a stunt coordinator. “Scott
was a joy to work with,” says Brown. “He put in the
time and effort and he really cared that his bull riding looked
right. He was always asking the bull riders for
advice. We had the best bull riders in the world – the
who’s who of the PBR – in this movie and Scott worked with them
to make it look as real as possible. Scott had no bull
riding experience coming into this,” Brown continues. “But he’s
a great athlete – he surfs – so he picked it up quickly. And
Scott looks like a bull rider. He’s muscular but not too
big. He’s very fit.”

“The
Longest Ride” opens April 15 in cinemas from 20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.